The photos were everywhere, showing me smiling tightly in the black gown, my skin looking too pale under the flash photography. Then the leaked renderings of the daring dress I was supposed to wear—vibrant and confident. Everything I’d wanted to project while my personal life felt like it was quietly unraveling.
Avery made a disgusted sound. “This is so unfair. You looked beautiful, but that dress made you blend in with the background. The crimson one would’ve been iconic.”
I scrolled farther, unable to stop myself. One of the posts caught my eye.
Serena Watts used to slay the carpet. Tonight, she showed up in funeral black, while the leaked version looked like a main-character moment. Someone clearly sabotaged her.
The comments were just as bad.
After that leak, she had to wear this? Poor Serena. Her team dropped the ball hard.
The consensus was clear—I had played it safe.
Tears pricked at my eyes, but I blinked them back. Avery didn’t need to see me fall apart.
Forcing a light tone, I murmured, “They’ll find something else to talk about tomorrow. At least the news cycle is quick when it comes to celebrity fashion.”
Avery sat up and wrapped her arm around my shoulders. “Hudson needs to wake up. I call bullshit on her thinking it would be good publicity to leak the details of your look to a fashion influencer. I’m only sixteen, and I know better.”
I let out a watery laugh, pulling her into a side hug. “Language, Aves.”
“Worth it,” she mumbled against my shoulder. “You deserve better than this. You took me in when your career was just taking off so I didn’t end up in foster care, and you’ve been fixing everything for me ever since. Someone should be doing the same for you.”
I hugged her tighter. “Don’t ever think for a second that having you here with me isn’t the best thing in my life. Having you move in with me was a totally selfish move on my part.”
“Sure it was, Sis. Keep telling yourself that.” She giggled and tilted her head back to look up at me. “But I will totally acceptI’m the best thing in your life right now, but only because Maddie keeps causing problems for you guys.”
“Yeah, I told him I needed space the night of the leak,” I admitted. “I saw him tonight, of course. We walked the red carpet together and sat next to each other during the premiere. But I still wasn’t ready for him to come over after.”
“Good. Maybe he’ll finally see what Maddie’s really doing.”
I nodded, but the ache in my chest didn’t ease. Not even when Avery rambled about how she’d totally push Maddie into the pool if she ever showed up uninvited again.
It was hard to feel like everything was going to be okay when I realized I might have to protect my own peace, even if it meant creating real distance from the man I loved.
6
HUDSON
Icouldn’t stand another night of short texts. After the leaked dress, Serena had gone quiet in a way that scared me. I’d only seen her for a grand total of four hours since that night, and that was only because we attended the movie premiere together. And I couldn’t be sure that she wouldn’t have bailed if it weren’t for the fact that walking the red carpet without each other would’ve drawn even more of the wrong kind of attention.
I felt like I was losing her inch by inch and didn’t know how to stop it. But I had to do something because I couldn’t picture my life without her in it. I’d faced down explosions on set, but the thought of Serena slipping away terrified me more than any stunt ever had.
So I cleared the Malibu house for the night. Told the staff to take the evening off. Just me, the ocean, and the ridiculous hope that I could get Serena alone for a few hours and remind her why we worked.
I was known for my confidence, but I was nervous when I called Serena. More than I’d been when I first asked her out, or any of the subsequent times it’d taken before she finally agreedto one date, still unconvinced things could work since we’d been filming a movie together back then.
She picked up on the second buzz, and I figured that had to be a good sign. “Hey, Hudson.”
“Hi, baby. I know you need time, but I miss you.”
There was a little sniffle on the other end of the line. “I miss you too.”
Her reply gave me hope that she’d agree to my plan. “Come over? I cleared the house tonight, so there won’t be any interruptions. Just us. Even if it’s just for dinner and talking. My wine fridge is stocked with your favorite Pinot, and since you wrapped filming today, I may have also grabbed the salted caramel ice cream you like so much.”
There was a long pause on her end. I could almost hear her weighing her decision.
Finally, she sighed. “Just dinner and talking for now?”
